According to a Washington Times news report, "A growing number of Minuteman Civil Defense Corps leaders and volunteers are questioning the whereabouts of hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions, of dollars in donations collected in the past 15 months, challenging the organization's leadership over financial accountability." For the full story, see here.

We welcome readers to share their opinion and ideas with us by writing to editor@ilw.com.

ILW.COM is pleased to feature the following immigration reference books:

Patel's Immigration Law Library,
2005-2006 Edition - features the essential reference resource "The WHOLE Act, The INA (Annotated), 2005-2006 Edition", once you have used this version of the INA, you will wonder why you ever used any other! This collection also features the fully indexed 8 CFR, fully indexed 20/22/28 CFR, and Patel's Citations.

Immigration Practice
by Robert C. Divine & R. Blake Chisam - an invaluable
supplement to Kurzban's with a different approach (also useful to newer
practitioners and paralegals in view of its easy to understand and practical style). Please note that the 2005-2006 Edition is sold out and orders currently received will be supplied with the 2006-2007 Edition, which is printing now.

You can order any or all of these invaluable reference works on our books page.

CRS Report On Hazleton Ordinance
The Congressional Research Service released a memorandum concluding "While the proposed ordinance does not facially violate Title VII of the Civil Rights Act or the FHA, it might nonetheless give rise to legal challenges if it results in discrimination on the basis of national origin rather than citizenship."

Help Wanted: Immigration Paralegals
Santa Monica, CA - Wolfsdorf Immigration Law firm, an AV rated 50+ employee law firm, has several paralegal positions available. There is enormous growth potential in our pleasant working environment. The positions require 2 to 5 years of business immigration experience, including a full range of diverse nonimmigrant and immigrant matters. Qualified candidates must have excellent writing, communication, organizational & case management skills. We offer competitive salaries and benefits and we encourage and promote our employee's professional growth and development. Please send your resume with a cover letter and salary requirements to: Bernard@Wolfsdorf.com. Join us and help contribute to one of the most dynamic immigration practices in Southern California.

Help Wanted: Immigration Paralegal
13 person midtown NYC immigration law firm seeks paralegal with 2+ years of experience with business applications:
nonimmigrant and immigrant. Experience with Family based, naturalization and other applications a plus. Bi-lingual Spanish/English also a plus although not required. Ideal candidate has BA degree, is detail oriented, organized, conscientious. Candidate must also possess excellent writing , communication & case management skills. Competitive compensation package offered. Email
resume and cover letter in MS Word format to mneedleman@levittandneedleman.com.

Help Wanted: Immigration Professional
Corporate/immigration Legal Assistant - Moore & Van Allen PLLC has an exciting opportunity in business immigration law with a large, full service law firm in Charlotte, NC. Prior immigration experience not required. However, candidate must have interest in working with large business immigration practice with multinational clientele. Candidate must be well-organized and have strong attention to detail. Candidates fluent in Standard Mandarin and/or Standard Cantonese preferred. Preference also given for candidates with experience working with clients in China, Singapore, or Japan. Salary is negotiable and commensurate with experience. Attractive benefits package offered. Relocation assistance may be provided to the right candidate. Please submit letter, resume and salary requirements to Stephen Hader Esq.: shader@mvalaw.com.

EB-5 Investor Program
We can make you a powerful offer. A conditional green card with no quota backlog for your clients. A generous finders fee from American Life Inc. for you if allowed in your state. One of the best-kept immigration secrets ... a real estate limited partnership investment of $525,000 in an EB-5 Regional Center program gives your accredited investor clients freedom. Live anywhere in the U.S. without being tied to a job or business. No need for day-to-day management of an active business. Want to know more about the immigration benefits of EB-5 cases? Call Mark Ivener at 1-866-767-1800 to answer your EB-5 immigration questions. With more than 30 years immigration law experience and five immigration law books to his credit, Mark Ivener is American Life's Immigration Consultant. For more information visit our website, www.amlife.US.

Readers can share their professional announcements (100-words or fewer at no charge), email: editor@ilw.com. Readers interested in learning about featuring your event or conference in Immigration Daily, see here. To feature your newsletter in Immigration Daily, see here.

Immigration Book
Transforming Politics, Transforming America: The Political And Civic Incorporation of Immigrants in the United States
Edited by Taeku Lee, S. Karthick Ramakrishnan, and Ricardo Ramirez. University Press of Virginia, 307 pp. Hardcover, ISBN: 0813925452, $49.50. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0813925452/.

Readers are welcome to share their comments, email: editor@ilw.com (300-words or fewer preferred). Many letters to the Editor refer to past correspondence, available in our archives.

Dear Editor:
With increasing frequency I am being contacted by U.S. citizens who claim to have been injured in various ways through marriages with alien spouses, whom they subsequently learn have married them primarily for the immigration benefits to be obtained thereby.
These individuals seem to be equally divided between men and women. What distinguishes these cases from the sad flow of American matrimonial law in general are claims that the alien used false documents or some other type of immigration-related fraud to either obtain LPR status, or to mislead the US citizen spouse as to their matrimonial intentions. Although the cases vary considerably in terms of the length of time that the marital relationship persisted, most come within months after the alien has been granted permanent resident status.
Most contacts seem able to afford legal representation. Many also share stories of abuse and fear. A common denomination in these queries is a concern that no one in their community is willing to represent them, because of the immigration fraud-related context. In response to these requests for referrals, I would like to ask Immigration Daily readers to share the names of any attorneys with a background in both immigration and matrimonial law, in any US jurisdiction, who would be interested in placement on a list from which referrals of these potential clients can be made.

Michael M. Hethmon, General Counsel, Immigration Reform Law Institute (IRLI)
The public interest law affiliate of Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR)

Dear Editor:
Remember Michael Dukakis? the 1988 Democratic Presidential nominee, who touted in his nomination speech 18 years ago, his status as the son of immigrants. In an op-ed in today's New York Times, however, Dukakis goes nativist - though with a liberal twist: If we are really serious about turning back the tide of illegal immigration, we should start by raising the minimum wage from $5.15 per hour to something closer to $8 ... Millions of illegal immigrants work for minimum and even sub-minimum wages in workplaces that don't come close to meeting health and safety standards. It is nonsense to say, as President Bush did recently, that these jobs are filled by illegal immigrants because Americans won't do them. Before we had mass illegal immigration in this country, hotel beds were made, office floors were cleaned, restaurant dishes were washed and crops were picked - by Americans. Americans will work at jobs that are risky, dirty or unpleasant so long as they provide decent wages and working conditions, especially if employers also provide health insurance. Plenty of Americans now work in such jobs. The difference is they are paid a decent wage and provided benefits for their labor. However, Americans won't work for peanuts, and these days the national minimum wage is less than peanuts. If the problem is that illegal immigrants are willing to work at subminimum wages, raising the minimum wage is the opposite of a solution. It would only enhance their competitive advantage over native Americans and legal immigrants. He's right, though his policy prescription would be disastrous. We need folks willing to work hard for wages Americans consider low for all of the reasons discussed before, from cheaper goods, a higher standard of living and the ability to keep other jobs that require low paid support here at home.

Honza Prchal, Esq.
Birmingham, AL

An Important disclaimer! The information provided on this page is not legal advice. Transmission of this information is not intended to create, and receipt by you does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship. Readers must not act upon any information without first seeking advice from a qualified attorney. Copyright 1999-2006 American Immigration LLC, ILW.COM. Send correspondence and articles to editor@ilw.com. Letters and articles may be edited and may be published and otherwise used in any medium. The views expressed in letters and articles do not necessarily represent the views of ILW.COM.